IRA’s Bombs Blast Industrial Park

Bombs planted by masked Irish Republican Army guerrillas exploded in an industrial park Wednesday, starting a fire that destroyed a warehouse and heavily damaged a furniture factory, police said.

No injuries were reported.

The armed guerrillas held security guards hostage before planting the six bombs in the warehouse in Dunmurry industrial park on the edge of Belfast. Explosions ripped through the warehouse while police were evacuating the area.

A fish-and-chip van driver drove around the park using a loudspeaker to warn workers to evacuate shortly before the bombs went off.

The outlawed IRA, which is fighting British rule in the province, claimed responsibility in a message to news organizations. It said it had given an adequate warning to prevent casualties.

The government said the IRA “will no doubt claim the Dunmurry attack as another important advance in its terror campaign. Those whose jobs and businesses are being jeopardized will take a rather different view.”